


Scenes from Other Worlds

by writteninweakness



Category: Amnesia (Game & Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Historical, Angst, Established Relationship, F/M, Friendship, Gen, Orion is human, Pre-Relationship, Slow Burn, Special Abilities, originally posted on tumblr but i no longer have a tumblr, varies by universe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-27
Updated: 2019-12-18
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:21:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 8,625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21585247
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writteninweakness/pseuds/writteninweakness
Summary: Various short snippets from other AUs I've created that don't have a real place since they're just one or two scenes. Includes a historical universe where the heroine is anonmōyjiand Kent is aronin.And some superhero Kent scenes. And a not quite blind date. And one where the heroine is a single mom to a baby Orion.And more.
Relationships: Heroine/Kent (Amnesia), Ikki & Kent (Amnesia)
Comments: 12
Kudos: 14





	1. Intro to Historical

**Author's Note:**

> I would have liked to post these fics like I did some of my others, with the main intro part and then the additional scenes I have, but these universes don't have an opening chapter, just random scenes, so for now, until that far off maybe someday that I can write them into an actual story, I will just group them here.
> 
> The first three will be from the same semi-historical universe inspired by [this CG](https://writteninweakness.blogspot.com/2019/11/engdame-cg-that-inspired-fic.html), others will be from different ones.

* * *

“Look at us,” Shin grumbled next to her. “Reduced to taking on _ronin_ as protection.”

Kokoa grimaced. She knew that, as much as he didn’t want to say it, he was worried about traveling without Toma, who’d been too injured in their last battle to come. She hated leaving him behind, but they didn’t have much choice, not if they were to make it to the capital in time. She knew Toma would come after them as soon as he could, but Shin would not rest easy while his brother’s fate was unknown.

She reached over to take comfort from Orion, who was walking beside her in human form, meant to look like her little brother, though she could tell he missed his horns from the way he’d shaped his hat. He gave her a small smile, very used to Shin’s grumbling and strangely not bothered by the _ronin_ who had the position at the rear of their group.

Shin had taken the front, he always did, as he was the better scout, but she didn’t think that it would have been wise to have the _ronin_ in front. As tall as he was, no one would be able to see around him, and they all needed to be on guard.

“Better to be without a master than to serve one who has no knowledge at all,” Kent said, and she bit her lip. Was he talking about Shin? Shin had been the one to hire him, though supposedly it was for her sake, since she preferred to travel without flaunting her _onm_ _ō_ _yji_ status and would seem to be nothing more than a boring tradesman’s daughter on her way to an arranged marriage, not the woman who must face the so-called demon king. How he knew to demand her by name she could not be certain, but he seemed to be testing her as well, sending many unfortunate mercenaries against them.

If not for their overwhelming number, Toma would be with her now, not Kent.

Shin shook his head. “He has too good of ears.”

“You’re louder than you think when you complain,” Kokoa told him, and he glared at her, making her want to giggle. Orion did laugh, and Shin glared at him. “And it is his duty to be listening for a threat, after all.”

Shin shook his head. “Damn Toma. If he had just let me fight my own battle, we wouldn’t need some stranger with us now.”

She grimaced. “That man would have killed you and you know it. Toma survived because he took it as a glancing blow, not full force, which you would have.”

Shin looked away, angry, and she knew he felt guilty as well. He would never have wanted anyone to suffer in his place, even if he and Toma argued often.

“How long have you been without a master?” Kokoa asked Kent, who frowned at her and the change of subject. “Some samurai are cast off when their masters die, others when they fail. I am curious.”

“You need not be. I have no intention of remaining in your service for long enough for it to matter. It simply happened that you were headed the same way as I was, and it was expedient to take on work that would help me reach my destination.”

“Unless you die along the way,” Shin said. “Which is still possible. I warned you this was dangerous.”

“In this unsteady political climate ruled by superstition and idiocy, everything is dangerous. Give someone with the ability to see and control what the masses cannot, and they create power for themselves when none should be given.”

Kokoa tensed. “Is that what you think of the _onm_ _ō_ _yji?”_

“You don’t think they have too much power over the nobles? There are those who bend to their will over traveling in certain directions, who will not leave to go home if it is against the advice of an _onm_ _ō_ _yji_ or will not leave their home, either, all because of a _katatagae._ It is ridiculous.”

She knew of some who would advise such behavior, though she never had. She wasn’t much in favor of divination. “You think that is true of all _onm_ _ō_ _yji?”_

“Yes.”

Shin gave her a look, but she shook her head. She couldn’t afford to reveal her status now, not to someone so openly hostile to the whole profession. He’d probably think even less of her for it because she was a woman. She could only hope that her other skills would not be needed and she could rely on basic defenses if they were attacked.

She had heard rumors back before they hired Kent that at least one of the _ronin_ in that tavern had actually killed their former master. What if that was Kent? What would he do if he knew he’d been hired by an _onm_ _ō_ _yji?_


	2. Onmōyji Scene #2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They get caught in a battle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Action scenes are the bane of my existence as a writer, and I just... have such a hard time with them. I can't remember now why it was important I do this one, but it was at the time.

* * *

Kokoa clung to Kent’s side, hating herself for getting into such a compromised position. She was better at defending herself than this, but she’d still fallen victim to one of the oldest sins known to women—clumsiness—and stumbled over the root, forcing him to catch her before she fell off the cliff, leaving them both at the mercy of the armed swordsman who’d been pursuing her.

Shin was fighting somewhere in the distance—she could still hear his sword as it made contact with another man’s, so she wasn’t worried yet. If the sounds of battle stopped and he didn’t appear, she’d worry for him. As it was, right now she and Kent were the ones in trouble, all because she’d somehow lost her footing too close to the edge. She hadn’t even realized where she was, but they’d both pay for it.

“Give me the woman, and I might let you live.”

Kent shook his head. “That goes against any sense. Why should I when you admit it won’t even save my life if I do? You make your own position weaker in your attempt to seem intimidating, and truthfully, it is simply pathetic. I am not impressed or inclined to agree to any of your possible demands. You can save us both some time by not asking again for such foolishness. You can also spare me any attempt you might make at bribery. I have no need of your money or hers.”

She grimaced. She supposed he had no real reason to be loyal to her, but it still stung a bit to be nothing but a bit of useless baggage, a dead weight dragging him down for all his bravado in facing that man. He’d have to drop her to fight, and if he did, she’d fall to her death.

Perfect. Only she could manage to trap herself in such a position.

“You can’t fight me like that. Now give her to me,” the swordsman said, advancing on them, but before he could put his sword to Kent’s neck, it clashed against another blade. Confused, he only stared as Kent used his _wakizashi_ to force him back, shifting their position as he did.

He dropped her rather unceremoniously on the ground, but as humiliating as that was, she wasn’t dead or hovering over the edge, either. He reached behind him and took out his _katana,_ facing the man with both blades in hand. She hadn’t even realized he carried a set of _daish_ _ō_ _,_ though she should have because he was a samurai.

“It would be extremely inefficient and illogical to only be capable of fighting with one hand when one is employed in my position,” Kent said, still impossibly calm about all of this. “Ambidexterity is nearly a requirement, though clearly you do not agree.”

The swordsman swallowed, watching as Kent turned the smaller of his two blades with ease as if proving his point.

“What should concern you more at this point is how fast I can move to close the distance between us—or perhaps you’d like to test my throwing skill instead?”

Kokoa forced herself to her feet, taking out her own set of throwing stars and readying one in each hand in case that man did start running. She wasn’t sure if Kent could do what he threatened, and she herself missed more often than she liked to admit, but at least she’d be doing something. She could do a lot more if she used Orion or something to distract them, making them much easier to hit.

The swordsman seemed to be weighing his options, and she half expected Shin to come up and stop him before he could make a decision, but he moved, letting out a ridiculous cry as he lunged for Kent. With one blade, Kent countered the attack and used the other to strike.

She flinched, but it was already over, just like that. Kent lowered his head and sighed, wiping off his blade before stowing it away again out of sight.

“We shouldn’t linger here.”

She nodded numbly as she followed after him.


	3. Onmōyji Scene #3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ikki explains to their employer why Kent hates _onmōyji_ so much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to write this conversation before I had much else of the story, and I still haven't written where they meet up with Ikki and he joins them in protecting Kokoa on her way to face the man who summoned her, but it felt very important to the whole thing.

* * *

“Can I give you some advice, my lady?”

“Only if it’s not about romance,” Kokoa said, getting laughter from Lord Ikki as he sat down across from her. She’d been dodging his attempts to flirt since they met, after all, and she didn’t think today would be any different.

“Don’t tell Ken what you are.”

She frowned, startled not only by his sudden somberness but also by his words. She wouldn’t have expected this kind of seriousness from Ikki. He always seemed flippant and carefree no matter what their circumstances. Shin hated that he never seemed to care about what was going on as much as he should.

“For me, it’s obvious, but Ken’s a bit more stubborn about this kind of thing,” Ikki went on, and she stared at him, hoping he wasn’t implying what she thought he was—she didn’t have any feelings for Kent, not like that. She did find him kind of fascinating in a way, since she knew it wasn’t just money that motivated him—he didn’t care enough about that, not enough to make him demand more or to leave at the better offers he’d been given along the way, and yet he shouldn’t have any loyalty to her, either. She wasn’t sure why he stayed with them, especially not after the battles they’d endured, but he had, and that made her curious.

Still, she wasn’t about to admit to anyone the truth of why she was traveling to the capital.

“I’m on my way to meet—”

“You’re an _onm_ _ō_ _yji.”_

She stared at Ikki. How could he know that? She hadn’t ever used her abilities around him, not once. Well, not unless she counted Orion, but she didn’t. That was different.

Ikki smiled. “Oh, come now. Ordinary women are not immune to my charms, and I’ve been told I was cursed by the demons to get them. Not entirely true, though it feels like it sometimes. Men despise me, and women think they love me, but it’s never real. It’s just this thing my eyes do to them that fades after a time. Only you can look directly at me and not fall under their spell.”

“I have a strong will.”

“You’re _onm_ _ō_ _yji._ Don’t bother denying it, but at the same time… it’s probably better if Ken doesn’t know about it.”

She knew Kent hated _onm_ _ō_ _yji,_ but she still didn’t know why. “If you think so, then you know why he hates them so much. For someone as learned as he is, someone who seems to do research on anything that he can whenever he can—he reads until late in the evening when we make camp—why wouldn’t he look into the possibilities of what _onm_ _ō_ _yji_ can do instead of just dismissing them as frauds and charlatans who use people?”

Ikki grimaced. “Well, Ken’s never going to tell you this himself, but… his lord fell under the influence of an _onm_ _ō_ _yji_ that was everything anyone would hate about them. Ken was the only one who disagreed with the _onm_ _ō_ _yji,_ who had more control over his lord than his concubines. The guy would do anything that _onm_ _ō_ _yji_ said, no matter how ridiculous or shameful. Ken’s counsel—which was valued and trusted and every bit as wise as you know it to be—was ignored and everyone in his lord’s domain felt the consequences, but that _onm_ _ō_ _yji_ didn’t care. He only wanted more power, and he was using the lord to get it. When Ken spoke out against it, the _onm_ _ō_ _yji...”_

“What?” Kokoa asked, feeling somewhat ill as she did. What had that man done to Kent?

“He convinced his lord that Kent had an evil spirit and that it must be exorcised from him as only the _onm_ _ō_ _yji_ knew how. Bastard tortured Ken for weeks.”

Kokoa winced. No wonder Kent hated _onm_ _ō_ _yji._ “That’s terrible. How could anyone do that? It… That’s not… Poor Kent...”

Ikki shook his head. “Don’t do that, either. He doesn’t want pity.”

“That’s not—”

“And don’t tell him I told you. It’s better if you don’t let on that you know. Ken’s very private. He doesn’t think stuff like that needs to be told.”

“Yet you told me anyway.”

Ikki smiled. “Ah, well, what can I say? I’m a romantic at heart.”


	4. Superhero Kent #1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kent covers up his superhero actions by being a hypochondriac who goes into quarantine at the slightest provocation.
> 
> She loves him anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a request from an anon a long time ago. I always wanted to expand on this universe, but things got in the way.

* * *

“Kent?”

He looked back at her, and she thought perhaps he'd be mad, thinking she was about to ask him to stop, but that wasn't it. She knew that to him this was necessary, and he was doing it out of care for others—love, even, though she knew it was bold to think of it that way.

“I'll miss you,” she said instead, smiling at him as much as she could. “So... um... hurry back, okay? Not to rush you or anything, not to make you do anything unsafe or that would put someone else at risk, but... I'll miss you all the same.”

He went a little red and stepped back behind the quarantine glass, letting the doors shut. She sighed, wishing she'd been even bolder than her words and tried to touch him before he left.

She frowned, watching him blow on the glass. When it fogged up, he touched a finger to it and drew an odd, misshapen thing that only barely resembled a heart. She saw him frown at it, but she could only smile, fighting stupid, happy tears.

“I love you, too,” she called out to him and waved as the quarantine cover closed and he disappeared from sight.


	5. Kent Superhero #2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kent muses on math, powers, and the possibility of love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is slightly different from the other superhero Kent story. Not sure if he would have the same ability or not in that one, though he does sort of have this one in The Forgotten Waltz.

* * *

“You should really get out more,” the girl was rather bold, telling him such a thing, but then he had already noted that about her in their first meeting. She was not typically shy, not that he’d seen, and almost annoyingly direct—though that same accusation was made of him more often than not. “You need fresh air and light and… all sorts of other things. There’s more to life than this lab, you know, and math isn’t everything.”

 _No, math_ is _everything. Or, rather, it creates everything._

He watched her, holding back his own thoughts on the matter. She would never understand, he didn’t think, since he could hardly explain it himself despite the myriad number of tests and experiments he’d done over the years. He knew it was impossible, and yet he could do it.

He’d dismissed it as coincidence in the beginning, but when it happened more and more frequently, he gradually came to accept it as real—after many, many controlled experiments to prove the truth of his unlikely and potentially insane hypothesis.

He’d always looked at the world through the terms of mathematical and other science theorems, wishing to explain the behaviors and phenomenon he saw there, and often he could by some means or other. That was to be expected.

What was not to be expected, then, was his ability—counter to all sense as well as the laws of the universe—to alter the phenomena by the use of those same mathematical theorems.

His first assumption, of course, since it seemed to show itself in a simple repeated pattern—every time he calculated the likely chance of rain on a hot day, it _did_ rain, counter to prediction—was that his ability was somehow tied only to the weather, but further experimentation had proven that theory false.

Kent could control much more than the weather.

He’d tested it enough to know two things—one, that he did, in fact, have that much power, and two… that no one should have as much as he did. He did not understand its origin, as from all he could tell, he was an ordinary man, born of two standard parents—their respective achievements aside, they were not some alternate species or new class of human—and yet he could manipulate the world around him at will through math.

Of course, anyone he told that to would likely find it insane, even Ikkyu, for all he had the ability to seduce nearly any woman with a single glance. Kent had never told him what he could do and would not, since while he knew that he _was_ capable of interfering with Ikkyu’s ability, he was not certain that he should.

The moral complexities of Kent’s situation continued to vex him, which was half the reason he was here in the lab today.

“There is still much I don’t understand,” he admitted after a moment, since it was true and covered all his thoughts. He saw her smile and shook his head. “That’s not to say I have any intention of following your advice. I am simply stating a fact. I have much yet to learn.”

“You can learn other places than this lab,” she insisted, and he had a feeling that boldness was about to show itself again. He knew he could probably make it happen if he so chose, but he did not want that. Leaving aside all the moral issues with manipulating anyone the way he could alter the world, he did not want anything about their interactions to be other than her choice.

He’d discovered that to his dismay when he’d gone against every rule he’d established for himself and acted so she didn’t react to Ikkyu’s eyes the way every girl did. That particular action had only made matters worse, since Ikkyu seemed fascinated by the idea of a girl who was immune to him, and while Kent knew his friend deserved to find someone like that, he did not want it to be _this_ girl.

“Come with me.”

He should protest, he knew that, but somehow despite his ability to change almost anything in the world, he found it impossible to say no to her.

“Very well, but only for a little while.”

She smiled up at him, and he made a side note that her smiles were a definite factor in this particular weakness of his, perhaps his own personal kryptonite.


	6. Not Quite a Blind Date/Protection Detail

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sawa is assigned a protection detail for an event. She's surprised by the agents at her door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swore I wasn't reposting this after I deleted it yesterday, but... I did say I was making sure all of the pieces I had up before were available, and that's part of what I promised to do before I did leave. 
> 
> This universe is one that I expected to go back to and never did, but I do love the guys as detectives/agents, and I was going to take the relationships further, too.

* * *

“I can’t believe they assigned us escorts for this. It’s ridiculous.”

Kokoa laughed. “Sawa, you’re an Olympic medalist now. You’re famous. And some of your fans are scary.”

“Yeah, like that one who sends you pictures of his bathroom—”

“Orion, I thought we agreed we weren’t discussing bathroom boy tonight,” Sawa said, turning back from the mirror and frowning. He gave her a slightly helpless shrug, and Kokoa shook her head at him. He knew better than that. Sawa was nervous enough about doing this event without him making it worse—after all, she’d only agreed to go if Kokoa went with her, which she hadn’t wanted to do but with Sawa so upset, she couldn’t say no.

Not that Orion gave her much of a choice, either. Her brother had gone so far as to help Sawa pick out her dress, and while she loved the green, she still felt like she was sure to trip over it and make a fool of herself.

She was a psychologist who occasionally consulted with federal agencies. She was not a celebrity. She knew a few agents who wouldn’t even call her an expert, though she did want to believe that was just Shin’s way of motivating her to keep up with her research and study, never letting that slide.

Or he was just a jerk. Sometimes it was hard to tell, even with an old friend.

“It’ll be some hideous guy with too many muscles and no brain, and I will be stuck trying to pretend we have something in common because I made the mistake of swimming too fast in a few competitions.”

Kokoa laughed. She always thought it was sweet how humble Sawa stayed even after winning her medals. She was much better than she ever said, and most people were surprised to see her in competition at all. She’d always been sporty, though, so Kokoa wasn’t surprised.

“They’ll be here soon, and neither of us are ready,” Sawa said, nudging her. “You need to finish getting ready.”

“I don’t do makeup. Neither of us does. That would be Mine, and she’s not here to force it on us.”

“Thank goodness. Last thing I need is another mascara disaster.”

“That was funny,” Orion said. “I still have pictures, too.”

Sawa glared at him, but he just smiled back at her, pretending to be innocent. Kokoa reached over and ruffled his hair. He caught her hand to stop her, smiling back at her.

“You don’t need makeup anyway. You’re very pretty, Neesan.”

“Thank you.”

“Here. At least wear one bit of jewelry or I’ll feel like an overdressed monkey.”

“You even look like one.”

“Orion—”

“He’s teasing, Sawa. You look great. Like… well, you’re practically Audrey Hepburn in _Breakfast at Tiffany’s._ The classic black dress, the necklace, even your hair. You look amazing. I’m jealous. I’m just this frumpy professor in an overpriced dress next to you.”

“That is so not true. Everyone will think I overdressed where you look classy and awesome in that dress. Like a Grecian princess.”

“And yet we’re both Japanese.”

Sawa laughed. “Yeah, I suppose. Maybe we’re appropriating someone else’s culture? I didn’t mean to, and I’m not sure Hollywood counts, but these days, who knows?”

Kokoa didn’t. “I guess if it is, they shouldn’t be selling the dresses, right? So… it’s on the stores and designers more than us because we bought them in good faith thinking that they were okay or people wouldn’t sell them here.”

Sawa nodded. “Yeah. Exactly. I don’t know enough about fashion to do much besides trust what’s on the shelf, you know?”

“We’re fine,” Kokoa said, trying to keep Sawa from another panic. “I know—we’ll ask our escorts. If they don’t have a problem with it, then it’s fine.”

“Guys and fashion?”

“Okay, you have a point.”

* * *

“I still think I’d prefer tendering my resignation.”

“You say that every time you pull one of these duties, and don’t think I don’t know that you managed to weasel your way out of the last six,” Ikki said, shaking his head as he walked toward the elevator. “You made Shin do it twice, and you know how he pouts. That was not fair at all.”

Ken pushed the up button. “I did not ‘weasel’ out of anything. It is not my fault that despite knowing much better, Shin and Toma are still willing to make foolish wagers and lose. I told them both there was a chance that protection detail was up in my rotation of shifts they’d be covering, but they still did it. And lost.”

“No one wins against you,” Ikki muttered as he stepped inside the elevator. He was a bit glad that Shin and Toma were on assignment this time, though. Protective escorts like this were always a nightmare for him, since the women involved almost always came onto him and treated him more like a paid escort than an agent, even expecting certain favors before the night was over.

He’d at least have Ken to talk to all night, which was better than Shin or Toma, and if their math conversations didn’t turn the women away—they almost always did—then he could at least count on Ken to see him home if he drank too much.

Shin had left him last time. Ikki still hadn’t forgiven him for that.

And he didn’t want to think about what Toma did.

“That is erroneous,” Ken said as he selected the upper floor. “You know you have won our games of Go, and I do lose those to Waka as well. And if you want to talk about cases—”

“Not discussing the serial killer stalker tonight. So not going there.” Ikki leaned back against the rail, waiting impatiently for the elevator to rise. He did not need to ruin his night more than it already was. Ken’s stalker with the math codes and numerology obsession was creepy, though the worst part was the rumors going around that _Ikki_ was behind all of that.

Ken was his best friend. Sure, they joked and called each other archrivals, but that wasn’t the same as some twisted killer who’d started stalking the genius who’d figured out his stupid messages at the crime scenes.

“I have never believed it was you, Ikkyu.”

Ikki managed a small smile, though it was little comfort as the elevator stopped and it was time to face the lady of the night. He could only hope she wasn’t half as annoying as the last one had been.

He walked up to the door and knocked on it.

“Do you suppose this is some sort of prank?”

“You’re asking me that now?”

“Normally we do receive more information on the people we’re expected to protect. It is odd that there was none tonight.”

“Oh, great. If this is one of Toma’s pranks, I am going to punch him right in the—Wow. Um. Do I have the right room? Because you seem very familiar, and I don’t—”

“Stop making a fool of yourself, Ikkyu. That is Sawa, and we used to work with her when we were in college. Though I believe these days she’s gained fame as an Olympic medalist.”

Sawa blushed in a very charming matter, and Ikki had to admit, she did look changed. Grown and matured in ways he hadn’t expected. She’d been a bit of ditzy girl when he’d known her, almost always getting orders at the cafe wrong, but this one was calm and composed and very much a lady.

“You’re the agents assigned to protect Sawa tonight?”

Oh, hell, Ikki thought, grimacing as he turned to see Kokoa standing there. This was going to get awkward fast, though he would probably be amused as hell by it, too. Kokoa and Ken always butted heads when she consulted for them, and that could be entertaining but also unpleasant.

“I knew there was a reason why we didn’t get an informational packet.”

“Yeah,” Ikki said, knowing full well that Ken would never have agreed if he knew Kokoa was his companion for the evening. He’d cite distractions and the legendary clashes of their personalities, which was well-documented, and someone must have either wanted to punish Ken or had no other choice to make this assignment. “You two can fake it for one night, right?”

“Excuse me?”

“You know, pretend you don’t secretly want to rip each other’s clothes off and that’s why you fight like cats and dogs.”

Ken glared at him. “I will simply remind you that with my particular expertise, there would be no evidence to point to me in your inevitable disappearance.”

Ikki laughed, holding out a hand to Sawa. “Come along, my dear. This promises to be a very entertaining evening after all.”


	7. The Unlikely Babysitter/Heroine Is a Single Mom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Single mom heroine is desperate for a babysitter. Kent wants no part of this, but he ends up being better at it than either of them thinks he will be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I have been writing an original fiction story that sort of helped inspire this. The idea of that poor main character taking on the role of babysitter after refusing to call the baby by name and using "small one" instead kind of circled back to this.
> 
> Anyway, I decided I wanted a Kent babysitting for single mom Heroine, and this was the result, and it's mostly cute, I thought, but I deleted it because it seemed horrible. And it kind of still feels like it is, but I am trying to be good and put everything up to stay even if I don't think it should be seen. I can't properly evaluate any of my stuff right now.

* * *

“Kent, please.”

“Absolutely not. This cannot in any way be wise, and I am not going to be responsible for that kind of folly. It is… impossible.”

“I wouldn’t ask you if I didn’t have to,” she insisted, looking up at him with those too large eyes that made her seem far too young and innocent. Eyes, he might add, that her offspring had apparently inherited, since it was gaping at him in a similar manner. “Look, it’s important. Really important. This is a job interview, and I don’t have anyone else to ask. You are the only person I know that isn’t already working or out of town or even out of the country. Please.”

“I honestly believe finding a stranger at random through some kind of agency or even a mobile phone application would be better than asking me to babysit.” Kent replayed his own words, still not certain why ‘babysit’ was even coming out of his mouth. Yes, his former coworker had a child. No, that did not have anything to do with him.

She sighed. “I also happen to be broke. I promise I’ll make it up to you, but I really, really need to make it to this interview. I know it’s a lot to ask, but I honestly never thought I’d be in this position of having to ask, but please. Kent, I will beg you if I have to.”

“That would be unwise and extremely unpleasant for both of us.”

She sighed. “He’s a really good child. He is. Orion’s a sweetheart. He’ll probably sleep for most of the time that I’m gone.”

“You say that, but I have my doubts.”

“I will feed him and change him before I go, and it’s just a job interview. It’s not all day. Please. I don’t know who else to ask, and I am running out of time. I can’t take him. They already don’t want me because I’m a mom. It’s like… everyone assumes all I want to do is stay home with him, and sure, it would be nice, but I’m the only one who can support us. Maybe if things were different, and I wasn’t doing this on my own, but I am. And I don’t need people judging me for that. I just need someone to watch him for an hour. Maybe a bit more.”

Kent sighed. “This is not about your choices, whatever they were, that may or may not have led you to have a child without a spouse. I have no idea what they were, and I do not know that I particularly care. I—You all hated me when we worked together, but you think I can be responsible for your child?”

“You are a very responsible man if not the most empathetic person in the world, so yes, I do. You won’t hurt him, and you’ll be almost too careful, and it’s just an hour and I’m desperate. I didn’t sleep last night and I’m so stressed because we have no money and my parents cut me off because I’m a slut in their eyes and I just… Please. Watch Orion for an hour, and I will find some way to pay you back.”

He could see her fatigue, and he very much doubted she wanted to say as much as she had. Furthermore, from what Ikkyu’s comments were about the last man she dated, Kent also had doubts as to whether or not this situation had been intentional. By all accounts, he was a possessive and irrational person who could not stand her friendship with any of her former coworkers or neighbors, and he might well have seen a child as a means of control and even his right.

Kent grimaced. He did not want to speculate on that. He much preferred knowing nothing of that situation at all, though it was impossible to ignore Ikkyu’s strong feelings on the matter, since she was his special friend, being immune to his eyes and completely unwilling to date him.

“Very well.”

“Thank you,” she said, suddenly embracing him, and Kent tensed, not sure what to think of that at all. “Here. Take Orion. I’ll be back as soon as I can. I promise.”

She was out the door before he had a chance to react, and he almost dropped the child. Kent looked down at it. “She did not, in fact, feed or change you.”

The baby looked up at him and tried to hit him with a rattle covered in spittle.

He sighed.

* * *

Kent rummaged through the bag she’d left behind, frowning at each item in turn. He did not want to deal with any of those diapers, and if he did have to change this thing, he would not be pleased. He also wanted nothing to do with its spare clothes as that almost assuredly meant it had soiled itself with something disgusting—and its slobber was bad enough. He did not think much of these toys, either, and the bottle she’d left was actually empty.

“Your mother seems woefully unprepared.”

The baby shook its gross rattle and appeared to smile at him, though to Kent’s knowledge, they were incapable of that at this age.

“I believe we can do better for amusement,” Kent said, rising and carrying the baby with him into another room. He did not know that he had a proper grip for that, but he didn’t know how to adjust it, either. He supposed as long as the baby did not fall, it would have to do.

He sat down at his desk and positioned the child in his lap. “Stay there.”

The baby gaped up at him, reaching up with its hand this time, trying to touch him. Kent shook his head and set to work on creating something more interesting for a baby to play with than a noisy, dirty rattle. An ideal toy would be a mixture of educational and functional, with the right material for a child of his age. He seemed inclined to put things in his mouth, so he might even be teething. That meant the toy should also have some secondary function as a teething device.

Kent didn’t know exactly how that would look or act, but he did think he could make something, and if he didn’t, he’d end up breaking that rattle or throwing it out a window. Perhaps just in the trash. It annoyed him greatly.

And disgusted him, he had to add as the sticky top touched his shirt.

* * *

She knocked on the door, not wanting to be too loud in case Orion was sleeping, but she got no answer, so she tried again, knocking louder. When she still didn’t get an answer, she kept on, making her pounding a little louder each time.

When she still didn’t get a response after _banging_ on the door, she tried the handle, opening the door and looking inside. “Kent?”

She couldn’t think he would have gone anywhere. She hadn’t left the car seat, after all—she didn’t even _have_ a car seat. She had intended to buy one of those nice carrier ones that worked with strollers, too, but nothing went according to plan, not after she got pregnant. She’d always pictured this a lot differently, and she never would have thought she’d be doing this on her own, but she was.

She shook off that thought, refusing to dwell on it. She needed to get her son and figure out her next step since she was pretty sure that despite doing her best at the interview, they weren’t going to hire her. She wondered if Waka would take her back at Meido No Hitsuji, though she already knew she couldn’t afford both her and Orion on what she’d made when she worked there before.

“Kent?” She called out to him as she walked down the hall, pushing open another door, feeling guilty. She was technically trespassing right now, and she hated herself for it, but she did have to get her son back.

She stopped inside the door, her eyes welling up with tears. She bit her lip and dug out her phone, needing to get a picture of this. She didn’t know where Orion had gotten that toy he held, but he had a good grip on it and on Kent, who had dozed off with the baby asleep on his chest. She remembered Ikki telling her Kent could sleep like the dead given half a chance, and she was seeing proof of that now since she knew she’d been plenty loud on her way in. She took a couple pictures and put her phone back away, crossing over to pick up the book next to Kent.

 _Elemental Theories of Mathematics._ How very Kent.

She sighed. She didn’t really want to wake either of them. Kent had to be tired to have fallen asleep with Orion on him—he’d looked terrified when she left, and she hated to do it, but she had to try for the job. She’d failed, and she was pretty sure she’d been taken advantage of again when they said they wanted her to try out the work for a while to see how she did.

They got a free worker for a few hours, and she’d gotten nothing. She’d be lucky if Kent didn’t wake up very mad at her.

She reached for Orion’s discarded rattle. This thing was his favorite, and she was surprised he’d let go of it. He only ever seemed to play with it, and it drove her crazy. Ikki thought it was a great baby gift. She’d told him flat out she’d have preferred he just bought her some diapers.

Ikki’s reaction to that was pretty priceless, though.

“If you shake that thing one more time, I will build something that can disintegrate it so I never, ever have to hear that noise again.”

She laughed at Kent’s half-asleep threat. “I won’t, but you’ll have to tell me how you got him to let go of it in the first place. He almost never does, not even when he’s sleeping. I told Ikki I might have to kill him. I can’t hardly sleep and I wake Orion every time I move him.”

“It figures it was Ikkyu’s idea.”

“I know, right?” She stopped smiling and sighed. “I’m sorry I took so long. They said I could try out the job for a bit, but I think they tricked me. They got a temp for a day and didn’t have to pay her, so I’m not just out the opportunity, I… I broke my promise to you.”

Kent reached up and ran a hand through his hair. “It did seem longer than anticipated, but I also thought that was just the presence of such a foreign entity in my space.”

She shook her head. “No. I asked them if I could do it later, and they as much as said if I didn’t, they definitely wouldn’t hire me, so… I agreed. I wasn’t even given time to text you about it. I’m so sorry. I really did think it was what I needed to do to get a job. I… I’m so stupid. I’m lucky they just wanted someone to answer phones. It… they could have done a lot worse.”

“Agreed, but desperation makes fools of everyone.”

“I can’t really picture you as desperate.”

“You weren’t here while I was alone with your child.”

She laughed. “Oh. Kent. I’m so sorry. I… If it helps any, you two look adorable together.”

“Not particularly, no.”

She sighed. Of course not. She didn’t bother trying to show him the picture. “Well, I guess I’ll take him now. I still need to make dinner and I need to see if I can get a hold of that person Sawa knows who was looking for a roommate. Not that I can pay my half of the rent right now, but… I can’t pay the whole thing, that’s for sure.”

She saw Kent looking at her and swallowed. “Before you start, I know it wasn’t wise to do this on my own. I don’t regret Orion, but I do regret… other things.”

“I was not thinking that.”

She shook her head. “Everyone does. People who don’t even know me look at me sideways because I wasn’t able to keep Orion’s father in his life. It doesn’t matter if he left me or if I didn’t know who he was or if I even wanted him in the first place. Doing this on my own makes me a terrible person.”

“My exact thoughts were that you looked even more fatigued than when you left and that you are saying too much. It was nothing to do with the child’s father, though from what Ikkyu said, you and the baby are both better off without him in your life.”

She winced. “Ikki talks too much. He shouldn’t have told you that. Not that he even knows. No one does. I… I’m taking Orion and going now.”

“If you like.”

“You actually want to keep him?”

“No, but what I did learn very quickly was that it was preferable to have him asleep.”

She laughed. “Well… Okay, maybe, but we’ve intruded enough, so I’ll take him and go. I know you’re busy.”

“True. I was unable to finish the miso I started making for dinner.”

“Oh. That sounds delicious right now. You were always such a good cook,” she said, thinking back to the food he used to make when they both worked at the cafe.

“There would be enough for you as well.”

“I couldn’t. I already imposed too much and I—”

“You should eat something before you go. I doubt you did before you went to this interview, and it would be remiss of me to let you leave only for you to faint on your way home with a baby in your arms. You can eat and then go.”

“Okay, pass me Orion, then,” she said, and he did. She almost cried when the transfer didn’t wake Orion. That never happened.

“Sit and rest. It should not take long to finish.”

* * *

When Kent returned to the room to tell her the food was ready, she was already asleep, as he’d figured she might be. He took a blanket from the closet and brought it in, covering her with it, careful not to cover the child as well.

Let her rest for a while then. She seemed to need it, and the food would still be there later.

In the meantime, he thought he might have a few phone calls of his own to make. If nothing else, he was reasonably certain Waka would hire her again, and if she truly needed a roommate, he had some thoughts on that as well.

Not to mention that he also had to make Ikkyu pay for the evil that was that rattle.

  



	8. Pride and Prejudice AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She's angry when he asks her for a dance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had the idea of a Pride and Prejudice AU a while ago. And I wasn't going to do that because Kent/Heroine basically have a Pride and Prejudice plot to their main route in the Clover world.
> 
> And then I recently rewatched all the Jane Austen movies that I own, and I ended up writing this anyway, even if it's not nearly enough.
> 
> Though it did make me break down and find last names for not just the heroine but also Ikki. *shrugs*

* * *

She hated him. She swore she did. He was nothing but a proud, arrogant man, with nothing but his money to recommend him. Money might matter to her mother, who was determined to marry her sisters off as soon as possible and had already decided that Sawa should be engaged to Mr. Mizutani’s best friend, Mr. Ishii. Ikki, as he urged everyone to call him, was warm and friendly, opening his home to everyone.

Not like Mr. Mizutani. He’d been standoffish and rude, not willing to talk to anyone but Mr. Ishii. Even Ishii’s sister Rika got ignored by the man, though if Kokoa was honest about it, she couldn’t blame him for that. Rika was… strange at best, and Kokoa didn’t think that woman was half as friendly as she pretended to be.

That didn’t mean that Mr. Mizutani was right.

He was so rude. The way he’d spoken about her, as if she was nothing at all, completely unintelligent, so stupid she wasn’t fit to draw breath—she didn’t think she could ever forgive that. She would hate him forever.

“Miss Hokama.”

She almost jumped out of her skin. How had he known she was thinking about him? She couldn’t believe this. She didn’t want to see him, of all people. Still, she bowed to him, as expected. “Mr. Mizutani.”

“I am given to understand you favor this particular dance.”

She swallowed, listening for a moment to the music, which was just right for her favorite dance. “I… Yes, I do, but I thought you did not dance.”

“I do not, not as a general rule, but this one is simple enough even I find it tolerable.”

She stared at him. “Are… are you asking me to dance?”

“Was that not clear? Must you have everything spelled out in ways more suited to a child?”

She glared at him. “Why on earth would you wish to dance with me if you feel I am so hopelessly inept? Simply call me stupid and be done with it. You don’t have to go on insulting me over and over again. And a dance isn’t going to change your opinion of me nor mine of you, and I don’t think I could ever be persuaded to dance with you. You are conceited and rude and mean, and I don’t know how anyone could stand you even for a dance.”

He pushed his glasses up his nose. “I see.”

She could only stare at him again. Something about the way he said that was different than usual even if it was just those two words.

He turned and left before she could ask him about that. She stood there, twisting her fan and wondering if somehow she had not made a great mistake. Well, of course, she’d just refused a man of wealth and esteem, and that was a terrible sin for a girl in her position, but somehow she was sure she’d done worse than that.

She lowered her head and went off to find Sawa. She wanted to go home.


	9. Another Way of Beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They muse over how this thing started between them in this world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really, really wanted to write a world where the heroine did agree to date Kent as an experiment. I think that would be interesting.
> 
> I also don't think I can write much of anything these days, so... it's just a snippet of an idea.

* * *

“I realize now how wrong I was to ask you to date me as… an experiment. You would have been right to refuse me. I admit I do not know why you did not.”

She smiled as she snuggled closer to him. She knew why, though telling him was a bit embarrassing all the same. She’d had a crush on him for so long, and she would have jumped at _any_ chance to date him. “Maybe I was just as curious about your hypothesis as you were.”

He frowned down at her. “You were… curious? You mean… you wished to know if I was also in love with you?”

She nodded. “Of course I did. What girl wouldn’t want to know if the man she loved felt the same way about her?”

She tried to duck her head, but he tilted her chin up so he could see her face and she was definitely blushing now.

“You were in love with me before we started dating as an experiment?”

“Yes. Or… I thought I was. I wanted to be sure, so I agreed to test it. And… we were both right. Dating you was wonderful.”

“I see.”

She was still blushing, but she didn’t want him to be mad at her, either. “Being married to you is even better.”

He looked conflicted for a moment before he gave in and smiled, leaning down to kiss her. “Yes, I do believe it is, but it will bear further experimentation.”

“For the rest of our lives?”

“Exactly.”


	10. Happily Married Universe Number... I Don't Know, but They Should be In All of Them

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Newlyweds Kent and Heroine have a guest in his best friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone suggested a fic where someone used someone as a pillow. I admit that's almost always Kent getting force snuggled by Ikki (when Ikki is drunk.) And I wanted it to be different. So I went back to one of my many, many worlds where Kent and the heroine are deliriously happily married. *shrugs*

* * *

“So, how is married life treating you two?”

Kent frowned. “Ikkyu, you have already asked that of us three times this evening. If you are expecting either of us to disclose more details than we already have, you will be disappointed, though I sadly suspect that you are only drunk.”

She giggled, since she’d been sure Ikki was a long time ago, about the same time as he’d done a “mock” sob on her shoulder since she’d “stolen” his best friend by marrying Kent. That wasn’t true at all. She knew she would never be to Kent what Ikki was, even if they were married now. Friends had different but still important places in a person’s heart, and that was never going to change. Ikki would always be Kent’s best friend, and nothing—no one—would change that.

“I’m not drunk. You haven’t started the movie, so I’m bored.”

“I’m sorry. I just wanted to wash up the dishes before I sat down again. The food is wonderful, Kent’s such a good cook, but if it has a chance to dry on the plates, it’s a nightmare to get off the next day. So I always wash up right away. Normally Kent helps and it goes faster, but you two were talking, so I was on my own with all of them.”

“You should not apologize.” Kent shook his head. “Though you should have said something. I would not have left you alone with them.”

“I know, but you two were having fun and besides, you cooked. This is fair. We agreed to share household chores.”

“That’s adorable,” Ikki said. “Damned if you two aren’t relationship goals.”

She smiled as she finished drying the last dish. “We try, at least. That’s the most important part. Sharing and talking and working things out—”

“Speaking of sharing, I claim the best pillow,” Ikki said, grabbing hold of Kent, whose expression about made her double over. “Not sharing. Being the best friend has different rules, you know.”

“Stop laughing,” Kent said. “This isn’t funny.”

“You’re adorable,” she said, because they were. Her husband continued to frown at her, but she went over and whispered in his ear. “He’s going to pass out during the first part of the movie, and I will make it up to you.”

“You shouldn’t have to clean up for his mistakes. Nevertheless… that does sound agreeable.”

She smiled again, kissing his cheek before going around to join him on the other side of the couch. She thought Ikki was already snoring, and maybe it would be better to let him sleep through the movie. She didn’t mind. Kent was actually large enough that he _could_ be shared as a pillow, even if she was only leaning against his arm.

Ikki was family, too, being her husband’s best friend, and she didn’t mind that at all.

Though judging from the way Kent was fidgeting and trying to get out from under Ikki, he just might.


	11. Random Happily Married Fluff

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a conversation between two happily married people.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know. I guess there was just this snippet of fluff.

* * *

“You need to invent something wonderful.”

“I am not certain I understand,” Kent said, propping himself up and looking down at her. “Why would I need to do that? And… is that truly what you believe I do at work?”

She tugged on his arm and pulled it back down around her, snuggling against him. “See, I had this thought. If you invented something with your genius mind and it was wonderful and everyone needed it—which it would be because you are so smart and practical—then we could live off the profits of it and we would never have to leave this bed. No getting up to go to work. I’ll just stay here in your arms forever.”

He laughed, brushing back her hair with his other hand. “That is impractical in many ways—cleanliness, many other basic necessities like food and water, and eventually even you would be bored of my company.”

“Never.”

“Oh, I think so. Though I do admit I have some inclination toward your sentiment, since I am not inclined to let you go, either.”

She smiled. “I’m so glad I married you.”

“As am I.”

He pulled her even closer, and she sighed in contentment.

“Are you _sure_ we can’t invent something so neither of us has to work again?”


End file.
